Why the Vancouver Canucks Asked a Youth Lacrosse Squad to Turn In Its Jerseys After Tournament

A little more than three weeks remain until National Hockey League (NHL) clubs open training camp, so we find ourselves giddy to see how its 31 teams, particularly our Philadelphia Flyers, will perform this season. Many squads will be seeking redemption after wretched campaigns this past year, with the Vancouver Canucks undoubtedly among them.

No matter how poorly they fared when last taking to the ice, the British Columbia-based franchise definitely has devotees, including a squad that entered last weekend’s Top Cheese lacrosse tournament wearing jerseys featuring a Canucks-affiliated logo. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but perhaps someone should add an addendum that says “when done legally,” as the Canucks, not having received any request from anyone to use one of their old logos, asked for the team to return the jerseys after the tournament.

While it remains for all to see whether the Canucks can stop the slide that has seen them be playoff outsiders the last three years, their management company, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, is hoping that a recent purchase, the Vancouver Stealth, who will soon undergo a rebranding, will make Rogers Arena an even more exciting venue. The latter team will move from Langley to Vancouver to compete in the National Lacrosse League, and a report from the Vancouver Sun noted that the management group became aware of the youth squad's jerseys that meshed the Stealth’s present logo with an alteration of the Johnny Canuck insignia the Canucks used before joining the NHL.

Though it granted the team, which the publication said lacked a formal name, one-time consent to don the jerseys, Canucks Sports & Entertainment "asked that they be removed from the market afterwards,” noting it has provided an option to Xtreme Threads, the company enlisted to do the mockups, to buy the lacrosse team members rebranded Stealth jerseys at cost rather than retail price once they become available.

The Sun added that the father behind the initiative to spruce up his child’s tournament experience by enlisting Xtreme Threads had not decided, as of Saturday, whether he would part with the uniforms. Given the one-time consent agreement and the management team’s offer to assist the players with acquiring authentic Stealth shirts, this could become quite a thorny issue if the patriarch remains indecisive or chooses to hold on to them.